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The Monday Round-Up: Tim Don is Back!

Don makes a successful return to racing, Van Lierde and Abraham tops in France, and more recaps from Canada, the US, and Costa Rica.

Weekend at a Glance

IRONMAN France, Nice

The 2018 IRONMAN France proved its status as a legendary race one more time, where the beauty of the blue Mediterranean Sea mixes with a real beast of a bike course.

In the men’s pro race, important decisions were made early. Robin Pasteur nailed a strong swim in 49:23 minutes and led the field out of the water. While Pasteur had opened up a gap of 1:30, most of the protagonists of the day belonged to the chase group which embarked on a fast hunt right after the bike start. Four-time IRONMAN France champion Frederik van Lierde set out quickly over the first (and rare) flat kilometers leading into the tough climbs and hills. The 39-year-old demonstrated his will to win from the get-go at the famous Promenades des Anglais. Van Lierde was aiming for his fifth win (after 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2017), lining up with Spain’s Marcel Zamora Perez who celebrated five victories from 2006 to 2010 in Nice. Van Lierde‘s early-bird speed-mission had an important second reason, whose name was Cameron Wurf. The former professional biker didn’t only set a bike record at the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship and win IRONMAN Wales thanks to a domination on the bike--the Australian has also improved a lot on the run, and this course suited his strengths. Wurf started the bike with a deficit of five minutes, but it was only a question of when he would appear at the front. By halfway through the course, Wurf was ready to go on his own. When he came into T2, Wurf was only six minutes gone and seemed still catchable. But the defending champion knew as well that he was not the only fast runner in the chase group: French Antony Costes, Giulio Molinari from Italy, Spain’s Eneko Llanos, and French Romain Guillaume were all there. Van Lierde didn’t care. He pushed his pace and kept going. Once he caught up with Wurf, he notched another great victory in France thanks to an outstanding run.

It wasn’t easy for Corinne Abraham to take the impressive win she eventually celebrated in Nice. The Brit was so far away from the mix in the water that she still had a five-minute deficit at the halfway mark of the bike, despite riding extremely fast. The 40-year-old fought hard to get the race under control on the second half of the tough course. While IRONMAN 70.3 European champion Melissa Hauschildt started struggling on the final part of the bike stretch, co-favorite Abraham moved into a podium position. It looked like long-term leader Manon Genet would led women’s pro field into the second transition as a local hero, but Abraham eventually made the pass with only a few meters to go. Since she was in the lead at that point, she started opening up a massive gap. Abraham exited T2 with a lead of almost 1:30 and put a lot of time on her strong chasers early on the run. Defending champion Carrie Lester ran into runner-up position while Abraham showed a stellar performance including a course record. Only four male pro athletes ran faster than the British women’s champion.

IRONMAN 70.3 Mont Tremblant

Lionel Sanders (CAN) has upped his game with his swim which was evident when he exited the water in eighth overall, but more importantly, facing just a 1:10 deficit to the leader. Sanders would let the race find its pace up front and would wait until about 50 k were through on the bike to make his push towards the pointy end of the race. In the last 40 k, Sanders would take the lead and build close to a two minute advantage on a chase group of three as the bike portion of the race concluded.

In what was believed would be a showdown between Sanders and the recently crowned IRONMAN 70.3 European champion, Rudy von Berg (USA), Sanders laid down the fastest run on the day to take the win in Quebec.

In the women's race, it was the Meredith Kessler (USA) and Rachel McBride (CAN) show. The pair exchange the lead throughout the bike with McBride hitting the dismount line with a tentative 10 second buffer to Kessler. Once the lead pair hit the run, Kessler would prove to be the dominate one on their feet. The new mom, who has been on a mission to race her way back to the top fitness, can now officially declare "mission accomplished" as Kessler took the win by a winning margin of close to three minutes on McBride, making this her second IRONMAN 70.3 win in the month of June. Next!

IRONMAN 70.3 Coeur d'Alene

It's no surprise that Andrew Starykowicz was first out of Lake Coeur d' Alene today, but what was a surprise was that Matt Hanson was right on his feet. Starky would know that he'd need as big a gap on this talented runner as he could get and the day didn't start of well on this front. Although the gap off of the bike from Andrew was 4.5 minutes, Matt was able to run a balanced half marathon to run a 1:11 and come up with the win. Kennett Peterson had one of the most balanced days we've seen from him to have a great second place finish just ahead of Starky in third.

Similar tactics would have been on the mind of Haley Chura in the women's race where she was able to get massive gaps out of the water. The nearest pre-race favorite was Linsey Corbin at 4 minutes down, with Sarah Piampiano and Jen Annett at 7 minutes. Chura took this cushion for what it was worth and rode a consistent ride to come off the bike with 2 minutes on uber biker Annett, and almost 5 minutes on Piampiano and Corbin. In the end, Chura came away with the win with Piampiano coming in second and Linsey Corbin rounding out the podium in third.

IRONMAN 70.3 Costa Rica

There was really only one story to tell coming out of this weekend's IRONMAN 70.3 Costa Rica and that was Tim Don's (GBR) return to racing after a lengthy recovery from a broken neck he sustained in in a bike accident in the days leading up to Kona last October. With a few months where his neck was completely immobilized, Don endured a medical halo secured to his scull with screws and started his rehabilitation and controlled training. In Costa Rica he was at or near the front of the race throughout the swim and bike legs of the race. A late surge near the end of the bike saw Don dismount his bike with a minute leads on a chase group of three men. Ryan Fisher (USA) was the only one able to match Don's run pace as the gaps widened on the rest of the field. Don was able to coast down the finish line chute and savor his winning moment before clutching the finish line banner and thrust it to the ground as if to say, "I did it, I'm back."

Lauren Goss (USA) was the class of the women in Costa Rica that watched her claim a wire-to-wire win in the four women pro field.

The Buzz: What We're Reading, Gossiping About, and Loving in the Endurance Sports World

"Dreams are attainable…potential is limitless"

USA Triathlon (USAT) has announced a partnership with Girls on the Run International, the non-profit that’s introduced more than 1.6 million girls to running since its inception in 1996. "At Girls on the Run, we teach program participants that their dreams are attainable, and their potential is limitless," said Theresa Miller, Chief Engagement Officer for Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run will be an official series partner of the USAT Splash & Dash Youth Aquathlon Series, and host new Splash & Dash events.

With the Girls on the Run focus on fifth to eighth graders, we’re looking forward to a new crop of young female IRONMAN triathletes arriving in about 5 years. #anythingispossible #youthdevelopment

Move over Tour de France, there’s another game in town

July is the month we sit on our trainer (or in front of our computer) and follow a little race in France. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But starting this week, you have another option.

IRONMAN has launched live coverage of 16 races through a partnership with Facebook Watch. Beginning with IRONMAN France, broadcast this past Sunday from the French Riviera, Facebook.com/IRONMANnow is providing live, interactive race coverage hosted by IRONMAN champions Greg Welch, Michael Lovato, Dede Griesbauer, and Ann Wessling. Paula Newby Fraser will be breaking it down on the quest to qualify for Kona, and additional legendary coaches and pros will drop in to provide commentary. Next up? IRONMAN Austria on July 1.

One more reason to work on your swim stroke

Obsessing over your bilateral breathing, pedal cadence or lean? You’re not neurotic, you’re boosting your mood through mindful exercise. New research published in Science Daily shows that mindful movement lowers stress and anxiety even more than exercise alone. In a two-week study of 158 Penn State students, mindfulness – which could be as basic as thinking about your breathing and paying attention to your surroundings -- increased the mental health benefits of exercise. "When people were both more mindful and more active than usual, they seem to have an extra decrease in negative affect," said Jason Yang, the postdoctoral scholar who led the study. "By also being more mindful than usual at the same time, you can see an amplified effect."